The VEGF receptor neuropilin 2 promotes homologous recombination by stimulating YAP/TAZ-mediated Rad51 expression

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling in tumor cells mediated by neuropilins (NRPs) contributes to the aggressive nature of several cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), independently of its role in angiogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms by which VEGF–NRP signaling contributes to the phenotype of such cancers is a significant and timely problem. We report that VEGF–NRP2 promote homologous recombination (HR) in BRCA1 wild-type TNBC cells by contributing to the expression and function of Rad51, an essential enzyme in the HR pathway that mediates efficient DNA double-strand break repair. Mechanistically, we provide evidence that VEGF–NRP2 stimulates YAP/TAZ-dependent Rad51 expression and that Rad51 is a direct YAP/TAZ–TEAD transcriptional target. We also discovered that VEGF–NRP2–YAP/TAZ signaling contributes to the resistance of TNBC cells to cisplatin and that Rad51 rescues the defects in DNA repair upon inhibition of either VEGF–NRP2 or YAP/TAZ. These findings reveal roles for VEGF–NRP2 and YAP/TAZ in DNA repair, and they indicate a unified mechanism involving VEGF–NRP2, YAP/TAZ, and Rad51 that contributes to resistance to platinum chemotherapy.